Congress' approval rating: 9 percent

Wednesday, 13 November 2013 11:49

It's official....this is the most disliked Congress in the 39-year Gallup poll history of measuring such matters. The latest approval rating: 9 percent.

"The government shutdown in October clearly didn't help Congress' image, and it appears that the impact of that incident may linger, given the record-low approval this month," according to a new Gallup analysis.

"This no doubt reflects the rancorous partisanship and bickering that characterized the shutdown -- the top reasons given by those who disapprove of Congress. Having a divided Congress -- with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats controlling the Senate -- means there are complaints among partisans on both sides, reflected in similarly low congressional approval ratings among Republicans and Democrats."

The number was bad enough earlier last month at 11 percent. But, Gallup found in its latest survey, taken Nov. 7-10, "Although the shutdown is now history, Americans' views of Congress have not recovered, but instead have edged lower."

Nothing can save the rating. Americans' confidence in the economy has begun to inch up. The news has been dominated not by the shutdown, but by the Obama administration's troubles with the new health care law.